Commission's of Jesus Christ

Matt.9:13, Matt.8:4, Mark 5:19



INTRODUCTION:

	What I have been impressed to share with you may not be to your liking, some may disagree and get upset. But then, some may take it to heart and use what is said as a tool to grow closer to the Father. You see, one reason many Christians are not growing is because preachers are preaching to the church as if they were the ones lost. Their methods instill doubt in many young Christians. I could say a lot of things to bring about a spiritual guilt complex. The Pharisee, Scribes, and the religious leadership of Jesus' day were craftsman with their methods (2 Cor.4:2; Eph.4:14). When someone was pleasing God, the Pharisees were offended and sought to stop that person. When Jesus obeyed the Father, they planned to kill Him. Today, if you do all to please your heavenly Father, the religious people will look at you as a threat and seek to defame you. It was for that reason that Jesus came to do away with religion and establish new life. Religion has a way of placing a yoke about people and putting them under bondage to their religious principles (Gal.5:1).


	Jesus said He was the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. Jesus also said the TRUTH will make you free. For that reason Paul told the Galatians, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Let us look at several truths that will help us grow. Jesus gave four, what I would call great commissions.
We are all familiar with the one  the Lord gave to His disciples in, Matt. 28:19-20.  "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.""  Here, the Lord's disciples are told to go and make disciples. This is synonymous with "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. But before this commission can be implemented we must take heed to His other commissions. The Lord gave three other "commissions" which we hear very little about but we can apply them to ourselves. These all imply spiritual growth and maturity. Let us consider what Jesus said.
 

 - Go and Learn - To the Religious

Matt. 9: 11-13.  When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and `sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: `I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'  For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (See also Matt.12:7)


Jesus, quoting from Hosea 6: 6 wanted those who thought they knew the Scripture to go and learn from Scripture. "For I desired faithfulness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."Jesus was speaking to those religious people, the Pharisee and the Israelites. Hosea begins chapter five with, "Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites! Listen, O royal house! This judgment is against you: You have been a snare at Mizpah,"�"Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the LORD. Israel's arrogance testifies against them; the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin; Judah also stumbles with them. When they go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, they will not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them. They are unfaithful to the LORD; they give birth to illegitimate children." 


God wanted them to understand He wanted faithfulness rather than religious rituals. Because of what the priests were teaching, the people did not understand and lived a life of sin. Faithfulness to God can only come through knowledge of Him. Jesus made that point clear in John 6: 45, "Every one that hath heard from the Father, and hath learned, comes unto me." Paul, in Romans 10 says, "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness."  How many today are trying to establish their own righteousness?
 

We must be careful that we also not get carried away by the religious rituals we go through and fail to gain accurate knowledge of our God. We too must learn that God desires faithfulness more than sacrifice. The Pharisee in us needs this commission. GO and LEARN!


 - Go and Show - To the Priests

Matt. 8: 2-4.  A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, "See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."


The next commission is to the lepers. Here, Jesus wanted those who had been healed and cleansed to go and show the change He had made in their lives to others, "as a testimony." Jesus wants us, those who have been cleansed by His precious blood, to show others the change He has made in our lives. Our life is to be a testimony to His saving grace. This showing is evidenced in our daily lives. How do we show our cleansing? By obeying what Jesus says, doing what He wants us to do. That means our life, not our religion, is to reflect Jesus to others.
  

When a leper was healed of his leprosy it was evident to others. Can the world see a healing or cleansing in us? The "leprosy" in us, needs this commission. GO and SHOW others!
 



 - Go and Tell - To Family and Friends

Mark 5: 18-19. And as he was entering into the boat, he that had been possessed with demons besought him that he might be with him. And he suffered him not, but said unto him, Go to thy house unto thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and how he had mercy on thee.

Here was a madman, a slave of Satan. Jesus delivered him from Satan's power and the man wanted to go with Jesus. But Jesus had other plans. He was told to go and tell others what Jesus had done to him. This is what Jesus wants us to do. Paul says in Phillipians 1: 21-24, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if to live in the flesh,--if this shall bring fruit from my work, then what I shall choose I know not. But I am in a strait betwixt the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ; for it is very far better: yet to abide in the flesh is more needful for your sake."  Paul, like the madman, wanted to go with Jesus, but it was more needful to stay and tell others. Jesus wants us to tell others about His power to overcome Satan, to deliver us from Satan's hold on us. Being a witness to Jesus does not mean you have to quote scripture or necessarily carry a Bible everywhere you go. He simply wants you who have been delivered to tell others about your experience and what Jesus has done. It doesn't get any simpler than that.


I sense we have been deceived by many preachers who emphasize inviting or bringing the unbelievers to the church house. Not that that is wrong in and of itself, but we get into the mode of saying 'come and hear' rather than going and telling them what great things Jesus has done for us. We are being denied the joy of witness, the joy of sharing with others what Christ has done. It is not the pastor's testimony to the world that leads others to Christ but your individual testimony that is a witness to Christ and your new freedom. The ex-slave in us needs this commission. GO and TELL!


I want to encourage you to heed the commissions of Jesus. He wants faithfulness to the Father more than to a local religious group. He wants faithfulness to the Father more than physical sacrifice for religion's sake. He wants faithfulness to the Father because He is our Father and He loves us and has our best interest in mind. Paul says in Romans 14: 22; 
"Do you have faith? Then have it to yourself in the presence or sight of God." A Christian doesn't have to prove he or she is a Christian to the church, the pastor or anybody else. He has to please God by being faithful to Him. Are we? 

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